


It's A Long Dark Road

by Button_Neck



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Coming Out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 21:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10396446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Button_Neck/pseuds/Button_Neck
Summary: Coming out is kind of like driving on an unlit road in the middle of the night, you kind of know where you're going but you can't see far ahead of you so at the same time you don't know what to expect





	

**Author's Note:**

> wow it's been so freaking long since i've written fanfiction and this is my first time ever writing for this ship!
> 
> basically i came out to my parents recently and i kinda just wanted to take my experience and write it down somehow. this isn't exactly how it happened with me, since 1) i am nonbinary pan ace and bitty is gay 2) it was a very stressful day and i don't really remember things word for word and 3) i had to make it fit the characters

Bitty sat anxiously on the bed in the hotel room with Jack; attempting to watch an animal documentary on TV while he waited. He glanced down at his phone every now and then, wondering if somehow he’d missed the call or at least a text. But he hadn’t and instead his phone remained dark and silent.

It had been almost two hours now, two hours since he went out under the guise of hanging out with old friends so he could be out of the house while it happened, just incase it went south.

Surely his parents had to have read the letter by now.

Right?

He had made sure to leave it in a very obvious place so they wouldn’t miss it. He had made sure to include in the letter that he would be waiting for their answer. An answer to the question: did they love him enough to love who he was, or did they only love who they thought he was?

He was terrified of the answer and the uneasy feeling in his stomach only crept higher with each passing minute they didn’t contact him.

He felt Jack wrap an arm around him and pull him close.

“Still nothing?”

He shook his head into Jack’s shoulder. He could actually feel Jack trying to figure out what to say.

“What if this is their answer?” Bitty said before he could. “What if this is their way of saying that—”

“Hey, hey,” Jack cut him off before he could go much further with that train of thought. “It’s going to be okay.”

_But what if it’s not?_ Bitty thought

“You want to know what I honestly think?”

Bitty said nothing, he only turned to wrap an arm around Jack's middle, which he took as a yes.

“I don't know much about Coach but I know that every time I see your mom I can see how much she loves you, and Bits it's a lot. Maybe they're taking a bit to process, to get their feelings in order before they call you. But if this is the way they’re responding, by just cutting you out, then your mom isn’t the person I thought she was. And they're both missing out on the great person that you are.”

Bitty sniffled. “I don't want to lose them.”

Jack pulled him fully into his arms holding him tight and pressed a kiss into his hair.

“I love you.” He said and Bitty buried his face in his chest.

For a while Bitty just laid there in Jack’s arms, listening to his heartbeat, matching his breathing.

It was a little after eleven o'clock and it had been over three hours now. Bitty untangled himself from Jack and made a decision.

“I'm going to call them.” He took a breath. “I just...I _need_ to know for sure. Good or bad.”

Jack took his hand. “Do you want me to…?”

“Stay.”

“Okay.”

He pulled up the house number on his phone, took a deep breath and pressed call.

It rung, and rung, and rung, until the answering machine played. Quickly he ended the call. Tears blurred his vision and he pressed a hand to his mouth.

“They didn't answer.”

“Try again.”

This time he called his mother’s number instead. His heart was pounding in his chest like before as he anxiously hoped she would answer.

And she did.

“Hello?”

Bitty suddenly found he couldn't speak, he didn't know what he could possibly say. Jack gently squeezed his hand, grounding him and his found his voice again, though it was thick with emotion.

“Did...did you read the letter?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“What's your answer?” She didn't say anything right away so Bitty thought he'd clarify. “In the letter I asked you a question.”

“Oh honey.” She said. “I'll always love you.”

Bitty tilted the phone away for a moment to let out a shaky breath.

“What about Coah? What does he think?”

“He loves you too.”

“So you accept me?”

“I—honey I'm going to be honest with you, I don't agree with it, because that's just how I was raised and how I believe, but you're still my son and I love you.”

Bitty didn't really know what to say to that so he said nothing.

“It's getting late.” She said, but he could also hear the _you shouldn't be out driving this late._

“I didn't know if I'd be able to come home or not.”

“Come home.” His mom said.

“...Okay.”

“I love you.

“I love you too.” And he hung up.

He let the phone fall to the bed and he folded himself into Jack’s arms.

“I get to go home.” He breathed. “I get to go home.

“What did she say?”

“She doesn't agree with it because of religious reasons, but she said she'll always love me and she wants me to come home.”

Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion. “So she doesn't…?”

“It's a move toward the right direction, baby steps. The best outcome of course would have been for her to accept me right away, but this is a more realistic one.”

“I'm so proud of you. I can't even imagine being in your position.”

“I can't imagine being in my position and I just did it. Holy shit I just came out to my parents!”

“You did. And you're okay, things are going to be okay.”

Bitty tightened his grip around Jack’s waist. “I should go.” But made no move to actually do so.

“It is getting late.” Jack returned the gesture.

“How long are you in town for?”

“As long as you need me to be.”

“...I think we should wait a few days before I introduce you to them as my boyfriend. Give them some time to process.”

“Whatever you think is best, I'm with you.”

Bitty took Jack's face in his hands and kissed him.

“Thank you.” Bitty said looking him in the eyes. “I don't think I would have been able to do this without you.”

“I think you would have, you're stronger than you know.”

Bitty pulled him into another kiss.

 

He drove home alone, basically on autopilot as he thought about the events of the day.

He still couldn't figure out why they hadn't called him, was he not clear enough in the note? He knew his parents had been oblivious about his sexuality until that point but surely they couldn't have not understood that he wanted them to at least let him know what they thought.

But it didn't really matter now. He'd done something terrifying, taken a huge risk, and he was going to be okay.

Only later would it occur to him that maybe his mother hadn't called because she'd always expected him to come home.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm currently looking for a beta reader. I've kinda wanted one for a while but I didn't really know how to go about getting one so here I am.  
> Mostly I just want a fresh pair of eyes to read my stuff over and catch the mistakes that I didn't see. (but really mostly I want someone who will yell with me about fandom things and tell my angsty ass how terrible I am for the level of angst I write and that I should clam down). I think having one will also help get me back to writing more and hopefully actually finish things that aren't one-shots for once. (aka i'm currently writing a jasico fic come scream with me)
> 
> please message me if you're interested!


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